Release Sources
A number of a release sources exist for Machina II. All of them are sourced from vinyl (except for the noted commercial releases of select tracks).
- Virgin promos
This source is from in-house promo CDs made for internal use at Virgin Records (sourced from the vinyl records), made before Machina II was released to the public over the Internet. Two versions of the promos exist, a UK (type I) and U.S. (type II) version, both with four CDs corresponding to the vinyl copies. As it was done in-house at a record company, it is generally assumed to be a high-quality transfer, though some of the faint voices which can be heard in the background before some of the EP songs are cut off, and in general, it is missing a considerable amount of audio between song transitions.
- Q101 transfer
As mentioned above, the radio station Q101 received one of the 25 vinyl copies. It was subsequently transferred to two CDs by the station (one CD containing the EP tracks and one containing the LP tracks). The transfer was done by a high profile radio station (presumably with high-end equipment and professional oversight) and spectral analysis shows the transfer to be of good quality. Copies were given away as prizes from the station.
- SPIFC transfer
The SPIFC transfer was produced from a vinyl copy by a member of the SPIFC. A transfer was eventually performed onto two CDs with "high-end" equipment. The SPIFC offers MP3 downloads of the transfer to members and held a contest giving away CD-R copies. The SPIFC transfer shows a 21 kHz tone which casts some doubt on the quality of the transfer.
- MP3 web releases
Following the vinyl release a number of MP3 versions quickly surfaced on the web. A select number of people involved in the Smashing Pumpkins online fan community received one of the 25 releases. Using audio equipment they had immediate access to, these tracks were recorded, encoded to MP3, and quickly released for the masses. Later MP3 releases may be from one of the CD sources listed above or newer lesser known transfers. The Smashing Pumpkins' official site also had the full 25 tracks for download in both mp3 format (at 320kbit/s) and in RealAudio format. In 2007, the album was once again posted for download on the newly-reopened SmashingPumpkins.com.
- Commercial releases
Four tracks from Machina II have been released commercially. These are of specific note, because these versions were sourced from the master tapes rather than amateur vinyl transfers. "Real Love" was featured on Rotten Apples. "Lucky 13" and "Slow Dawn" appeared on Judas O, which was included with early copies of Rotten Apples. The Machina II version of "Try, Try, Try" was one of the B-sides to the "Untitled" single, titled "Try (Alternate Version)." The studio banter that precedes "Try, Try, Try" on Machina II has been removed from this version.
A remastered version of the album is currently slated for release in 2013 alongside a remaster of Machina/The Machines of God. This will be the first commercial release of the album.
Read more about this topic: Machina II/The Friends & Enemies Of Modern Music
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